


It's easier to run

by Ellie_Aang



Category: Avatar - Fandom, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Air Nomad Genocide (Avatar), Airbender Ty Lee (Avatar), Confessions, Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Foreplay, Gen, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Minor Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Multi, Pansexual Character, Past Aang/Katara (Avatar), Past Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar), Past Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Post-Avatar: The Last Airbender, Pre-Poly, Puberty, Rare Pairings, Rare Relationships, Rebuilding, Shared Trauma, Stress Relief, Survivor Guilt, aang and ty lee are clueless, aang x ty lee - Freeform, aanglee, like lots of foreplay, tylaang
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26271196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellie_Aang/pseuds/Ellie_Aang
Summary: It had been 2 years since Ozai was defeated and Zuko was crowned Fire Lord. However, the damage left by Sozin's empire was far too deep and it was Aang's job to restore trust and communion between the nations.The War was not over, and Aang had to deal with that whilst going through his own issues, both as a teenager and as the last of his people.His longing for connection, both romantic and spiritual, led him to two people he never expected to love.
Relationships: Aang/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	1. Longing

**Author's Note:**

> THIS IS MY FIRST FIC, PLEASE BE KIND!
> 
> I know it's an unusual pairing, but I just love the idea of Aang and Ty Lee, and this is my attempt to show you guys why.
> 
> Also, Iroh is supposed to be a spiritual mentor for Aang.
> 
> I intend to finish it as quickly as possible. 
> 
> English is NOT my first language, but I tried my best. 
> 
> I hope you like it!

The War was over. Well, the hard part that is. At least that’s what everyone thought. Exactly 2 years after Ozai’s descent, Aang was standing alongside Zuko on the outside of the Royal Palace with all the representatives of the 3 nations cheering for them again. They were celebrating the liberation of the southwest colonies from a group of fire fundamentalists who preached bending supremacy and slavery of non-benders. It was a harder task than expected. The group was larger than it seemed to be. Aang didn’t want to abuse his Avatar state nor his new found skill of taking people’s bending away. He was also beginning to feel his energy being drained from those hundred years inside that iceberg. The Kyoshi warriors were essential to the task, their new ability to chi block showed those bastards what they deserved. 

It was rather difficult to gather the trust and support of the Fire Nation’s ambassadors later. Sure, they wouldn’t dare to start a fight with the Avatar, who also had some of the most powerful warriors by his side, but some of them they still viewed Zuko as a traitor and Aang as a threat. Having Ozai, Azula and a bunch of fire nation citizens imprisoned was not exactly the best way to show them that they wanted peace. 

The Fire Nation suffered years of mental and social manipulation. Citizens, both adults and specially children were educated to a degree where they believed their Nation was just trying to make the world a better place, and the Avatar wanted to restrain them from achieving greatness. 

However, there were always those who knew about the imperialist façade of Sozin’s wishes and the genocide that came along with his desire for eminence. Sure, Aang and his team could’ve just imposed themselves onto them, but that would’ve just make things worse. Thank the Spirits Iroh was there to save them from another war. 

The White Lotus wasn’t just resumed to an order of old warriors searching for the best time to act upon the disgrace brought by the Fire Nation and take back Ba-Sing-Se. No, they were a massive organization, composed by fighters, academics, chi-blockers, scientists, spies, politicians and families that were aware of the cultural chains forced onto the nation’s citizens. 

Aang was surprised to see how many people were part of The White Lotus, and even more so about the ideas they had to take down Ozai if the Avatar had never returned. After a hundred years, they came up with some of the most elaborate and complex plans, from flat out loud revolutions to opening up the portal the separated the Spirit World from ours.

It was both calming and frightening for Aang to think that even if he ceased to exist, the people would never stop trying to find a way to take care of the injustices in the world by themselves. He was just glad to be able to fulfill his destiny and take care of the Fire Lord before any more lives were lost. 

Iroh and the Order of The White Lotus were able to gather the resistance, which included several members of the Fire Nation’s Council (turns out Azula was right to be so paranoid after all), to start their campaign to show the citizens their actual history, turning them to Zuko’s side. It would be a slow and challenging process, but it had to do. 

With people from all cultures cheering for them, Aang felt an ache in his heart again. The same pain he experienced when he saw Monk Gyatso’s corpse. All of his people were gone and nothing could change that. 

After thanking Aang personally, Zuko invited Iroh to make a speech about hope and cooperation, but the Avatar was still brooding, his eyes going across every single face that he could, looking for a resemblance, but he found none. He felt Katara smiling at him, and he returned the gesture. 

She was an amazing person. Some weeks after Ozai’s defeat, Aang saw her and Zuko holding hands with their foreheads pressed together when they were visiting the Kyoshi island. It was inevitable, he supposed. The couple had been flirting ever since Zuko joined them. Aang didn’t get angry or jealous, he and Katara had talked about her interests after the War was over and he had recognized that it was only a crush and that his feelings for her developed into something entirely different. 

After all, Katara was the first person he had seen after he got out of that iceberg. She was so willing and motherly and the fact that she took him under her wings so easily was just the most personally gratifying thing for him. 

So logically, he started developing feelings for her. He always knew it was love and her beauty didn’t exactly hurt. However, after their last attempt of a kiss on the Ember Island, he realized that maybe there wasn’t any fire there and their relationship was developing into something greater than just romantic love. She was becoming his sister, a part of his family. 

After that realization, it wasn’t as hard for him to accept that she and Zuko were together. After all, they complemented each other in a way that was difficult to explain, but easy to see. To be honest, he started to grow fond of the idea in these past months. They bickered a lot, but it was actually kind of cute. 

But the thought of them only brought more tears to his eyes. His longing for a connection and familiarity was only making him more nostalgic. Even though he was already older and more mature now, he sometimes still felt like a lost kid, not sure of what to do anymore.

His hormones also began to spur. He had grown at least 12 inches in these past years, eagerly mocking Sokka for beating him already. His voice was also deeper, although still cracking at some moments and his body as a whole began to change. Some desires also started to pop. Being the Avatar meant that the attraction for all sorts of people were there inside of him, courtesy of his predecessors. It was a nightmare because he could easily find people from every gender attractive but still was bad at flirting with all of them. 

He wished to have someone to talk to about these things, but the closest person was Zuko and Sokka and that felt kinda strange because, even though he wasn’t with Katara anymore, he’d still kissed her. Also, his feeling weren’t resumed to lust, but something weirder than just that. Aang thought of asking Roku, Kyoshi or even Yangchen but it would be completely crazy to summon his past lives to talk about puberty. 

Also, for some reason, he never got to feel that same desire he had for Katara with anyone else. The last boy he kissed in one of the fire nation colonies just seemed to be interested in being seen with the Avatar. When he was traveling the world in the Peace Upbringing mission with Sokka and Suki he even tried something with that girl Meng because she was already into him before, but even after a few make out sessions, he still felt nothing really. It was fine but well, it was “just” fine. 

Aang later decided that the problem was with him. Everything was confusing. The whole “trying to get the world back together” was starting to weight on his shoulders and there was not a single moment when he didn’t feel guilty about running away a hundred years ago. He wasn’t exactly having fun or even time to experiment being a teenager. He wanted to have some moments with his friends without any responsibility whatsoever but it was proving to be even harder than before his fight with Ozai. Back then he had only one single purpose, one goal. Now, everything was chaotic. He wondered if Gyatso would know what to do.

Remembering his old mentor was enough to make him start to shed silent tears. This was embarrassing. The most powerful bender in the world was crying because of his damn hormones or something like that. Iroh, always the observer, was his savior again.

\- But I think we’ve heard enough speeches today – he put his right arm on Aang’s shoulder – Let’s celebrate our victory the way they do it in Omashu! With a dance party! 

Everyone clapped and started to spread away. Zuko had arranged a party (with Sokka’s help of course) to calm down everyone’s nerves. It should be a chance for Aang to have some fun, he supposed. 

\- Aang, are you doing ok? – Iroh asked, his face genuinely worried.

\- I’m fine. Just remembering things – Aang’s voice cracked again, making him feel even more embarrassed – Just need some time alone before the party. 

\- You know, sometimes we may think that something’s gone forever, but it actually is present in a way that we did not expect – Iroh always seemed to have some wisdom to share, even though Aang was not exactly sure of what he meant by that. 

The firebender then gave him a quick smile and went inside, leaving the Avatar alone with his thoughts. Katara gave him a look across the crowd and he nodded. She understood immediately and called Zuko and their friends to not bother him and just wait until he was ready. Aang walked towards the Palace’s garden in a spot that he knew nobody went to, for it was too high and the air was too rarefied, which made it difficult for other people to breathe, but not an airbender. 

He sat on the edge of the cliff staring at the horizon. He didn’t want to meditate, just think. He must’ve drifted off because it was already sunset when he heard a familiar voice.


	2. Familiarity

\- Hi – Ty Lee appeared out of nowhere. She wasn’t in her Kyoshi warrior outfit but instead had her long hair in a side ponytail, with a pink, long party dress that made her look even more beautiful than she already was – Guess I’m not the only one who knows about this place then. 

Aang didn’t know exactly what to say. Ever since their mission on the southwest colonies he was feeling a little weird around her. He had never seen her in action, their paths rarely crossed when they were enemies and he was usually worried about Zuko or Azula. 

However, her flexibility and chi blocking abilities surprised him in a way that none of his foes ever did. Even though she had taught the other Kyoshi warriors some technics, her own were something else. She moved like a feather, doing all sorts of acrobatics, almost floating in the air and barely making any sounds when she landed on the ground. Her aura also exuded positivity even when she was taking down her enemies. She could’ve almost gone after the entire gang of fundamentalists by herself. 

The way she fought was too reminiscent of the ancient art/sport done by some of the acolytes in the Southern Air Temple. Even though they weren’t exactly warriors, they believed in exercising your physical and breathing abilities to the max, since that supposedly helped them to achieve inner peace and strength. 

Aang was captivated by her that week. They had never really talked much. The Avatar was often too busy and when she was not with Mai or Haru, Ty Lee was usually training with the Kyoshi warriors. However, fighting alongside her proved to be well, sort of fun. They even exchanged some zingers throughout the whole thing. He laughed a lot during that week, which was rare these days. He did feel bad for it because well, they were fighting against slavers and nutjobs but he couldn’t help himself during their breaks. Ty Lee was just…exciting. 

She and Haru were together for a while. 5 months? Maybe less… It was an odd pairing, but again, she could literally have any boy she wanted. Everyone was obsessed with her and Aang now knew why. Even though he always thought she was beautiful, he’d never really spent enough time with her to pay much attention, and his duties kept him too busy to engage in any sort of flirting with someone he knew he’d never had a chance with. Perhaps that’s why he never even considered the possibility. 

She broke up with Haru 3 months ago. She was always so positive around everyone but never seemed to be happy when in a relationship... he heard it once from Suki that she felt trapped and just wanted to be free and Haru was too jealous or something. Aang could relate. The air nomads always rebuked the idea that a person should feel like he owned another, like if their partner was their property. After he got over Katara, he started to realize that jealously was probably the feeling he hated the most in the world and tried his best to get rid of it in any form. 

\- Ummm, ok then – Aang was so lost in his own thoughts that he forgot to respond to her – Can I sit here with you? – she asked.

\- Of course, yeah! Just… be careful – damn his voice cracking again. Wasn’t it supposed to be over at 15 years old? – I mean, it gets a little hard to breathe up here. 

She giggled. It was probably the cutest sound he’d ever heard in his life. And he had Momo as a pet. 

\- Don’t worry about me – Ty Lee than did a flip with such an ease and grace without even damaging her dress and sat beside him. 

\- Now you’re just showing off - Aang mocked. She bopped his nose with her index finger and gave him a confusing look, one that he wasn’t exactly sure what meant. And that was saying something, since Ty Lee was one of the most expressive people he’d ever known. 

\- I didn’t mean to disturb – her legs were dangling from the cliff while she started playing with a string of hair that feel in her face – But you’ve been here for an hour already and I don’t think anyone who’s grieving should be by themselves. 

An hour? Has it really been that long? He must have really drifted off. And wait, how did she know he was grieving? He didn’t exactly told Iroh about it, nor Katara. Spirits, this is embarrassing. Was he that obvious? Everyone must’ve seen him crying then.

\- Grieving? – he tried to avert the subject – No… I mean, I just wanted to be alone for a while. 

\- I’m sorry – she sounded genuinely upset – I just thought you could use some distraction – he started at her. Damn, she was gorgeous – Maybe I should go then. 

\- No! – Aang shouted, maybe a little too loud, holding her arm so she could stay – Sorry I… didn’t mean to grab you like that – he could feel his face getting red whilst taking his hand away – I just… I just don’t know what I’m doing – he broke. This waterfall of emotions was dropping above his head and well, he just couldn’t control himself anymore – I’m trying to get the world back together but everytime we save someone it seems like there are a thousand more problems to solve.

It was too easy getting confortable around Ty Lee, so much so that Aang couldn’t stop confessing.

– I don’t even know if some of these people want to be saved! And it’s all my fault! – he could feel some tears falling in his face – If I hadn’t ran away I could’ve prevented this whole mess! But I did, and now my people are gone and the rest of the world still hates me! There are no more airbenders because of me. All this time I blamed the fire nation but if it wasn’t for me being the Avatar they wouldn’t even go after my people in the first place. I’m just… the worst Avatar ever.

He was gone now. There was no more hiding. Maybe he felt embarrassed but honestly, Aang was just glad to be able to share this with someone. He never really talked to anyone about the weight of this guilty he still carried on his shoulders, even after defeating Ozai. All of his friends and followers looked up to him, so he had to be strong now and not disappoint them like he did his people. But still, keeping that for himself for so long had drained him. He was good at hiding it, since his fun and upbeat personality often fooled everyone to think that nothing was going on inside his head. Toph once brought it out, she could sense when he was lying. But he had denied it so many times that she gave up on trying. 

Ty Lee was staring at him, her big and shiny eyes were too familiar for some reason. 

\- I don’t know how you do it – she started saying – being the Avatar, I mean – she started at her own feet, her own eyes filling with water – You are so brave Aang, and nobody hates you. You were a kid and you were scared. They had no right to put you up to this task when you were that young. I mean, what did they expect? That you would be able to accept that you had to take down an entire nation on your own when you were just 12? – her voice was slightly altered – They did you wrong, Aang! And yes, maybe you shouldn’t have ran away but… c’mon at the same day that they say you were the Avatar they tell you that it is your mission to save the world as fast as you can? How do they put that amount of pressure on a kid? It’s just… wrong. 

Aang was surprised by those words. How did she even know the whole story? He doesn’t remember telling anyone else but Katara about it. And why did she care so much? They stayed in silence for a while, not knowing what to say after that.

\- I know I used to chase you guys down – she finally broke the tension and smiled between tears – But I never wanted to kill you. It’s just… well, I think I only wanted to impress Azula – mentioning her name made Ty Lee a little nervous – I don’t know if I ever told anyone about she and I – Aang’s eyes widened. He never even thought about it – I worshipped her… and I guess I thought it was love – her voice was so soft that he barely heard her – But love doesn’t hurt you like that. And Azula was never really able to love anyone else but herself. Maybe she can get better, but I don’t want to be a part of it anymore.

This showed Aang a whole new side of her. He never even considered the possibility of a person so pure like Ty Lee being in love with someone like Azula. But the heart wants what it wants, he guessed. And after they found Ursa, things started to change. Azula was still technically their prisoner, but she was provided help and tools to guide her though her mental health issues. But Ty Lee deserved someone who would treat her with the most care in this world. She was just too good.

\- It was stupid – she continued – I knew back then that what Azula was doing was wrong... and I even tried to deny that I liked her, but it didn’t quite work out. And then we kissed at the beach – she sounded disgusted at that last part – I realized then that I wasn’t really in love with her, but afraid of her. Not only for myself, but also afraid to let her down, afraid to hurt her. I knew what she had gone through with her mother and I just wanted to make her feel good. But I started to realize that she was broken and not even I could fix her – she started crying really hard now. 

\- It wasn’t your job to fix her – Aang said. He didn’t realize it before but his own tears were gone and he hadn’t felt that awful guilt this whole time. Ty Lee seemed to have this need to please everyone around her and make them feel comfortable. But Aang never realized that maybe it wasn’t something natural, but she actually had to work for it and it could really drain her own feelings. 

\- Maybe – she smiled at him – But I just try to bring happiness you know – Aang chuckled – I guess I failed at that with you too. 

\- What do you mean? – now he was confused. 

\- Oh Aang…. – she whipped her tears away – I’ve noticed you really down lately. I tried making you feel better at our mission on the colonies but I guess it wasn’t enough. I’m so sorry about everything. I just want you to know that… well, I’m here for you… if you need me of course. 

His face was burning hot. Aang started feeling things he wasn’t supposed to. Ty Lee was his friend. She’d just confessed to have had feelings for another person. It wasn’t your place to do anything now. Just say thanks and walk away before you do anything stupid.   
But they stayed like that for a while, staring at each other. Some things were coming back to Aang now. He never noticed before, but everytime he was feeling down, she was there to try and cheer him up. He thought she didn’t really care for him, but he started to remember some recurring events. Like when she made him lemon pies exactly the way Monk Gyatso used to, or when she gave Appa a surprise bath and shave when Aang had to travel without him, or when she danced with him at a fire nation party when no one else wanted to, or when she always gave him a smile when he laid his eyes on her at council meetings… wait, did she always stare like that? He’d always assumed she was looking at Sokka who were on his right most of the time but now that he realized it, she once admitted her past crush on Sokka was only a joke, so maybe she was looking at Aang? Also, those stares weren’t exactly motherly like Katara’s. There was something else about them. Perhaps… 

Aang started to shake at those memories. His mind was playing tricks on him. How could Ty Lee, one of the most beautiful girls he’d ever seen, who could literally have anyone she wanted, be interested in him? He was this skinny teenager with some serious issues and responsibilities on his back, who was also not exactly smooth and never really gave her the attention all the other people did. But maybe what he was looking for was right there, in front of him the whole time, and he was just too stupid to notice. 

\- You look really beautiful tonight – the words escaped his lips. Damn it you moron what are you doing? – I mean, you look beautiful all the time and I don’t mean to say it like you’re pretty because you’re crying it’s just… - still bad at flirting huh? Where was Kuruk when Aang finally needed him?

She giggled again and placed a hand on his leg. 

\- You look handsome too – she said it in a cute way. Aang never thought he would see her blush and look away like that – Never thought you’d get so tall. 

They stared at each other again. Was that really happening? They weren’t crying or even smiling anymore. Instead, there was this tension between them. It was electrifying, almost cosmic. Aang never felt this way towards anyone else before, not even Katara. It was something out of this world. His heart was bumping fast. It was now or never. 

Aang took her face on his right hand and started to get closer, looking for any sign of rejection or fear from her. But she was breathing heavily, her pupils were dilated and she was biting her lips in a way that couldn’t be mistaken for anything else but desire. She started to brush her hand higher on his thighs, making him shiver even more. There was nobody else in the world but them.

\- Aang! Where are you? C’mon you gotta see this! Zuko is trying to play the tsungi horn and it’s hilarious – Sokka was so close that if he had just looked up for a moment he would see them. 

It was like waking up from a great dream. Ty Lee jumped in surprise and stepped away from Aang. She was still wearing a light shade of red on her face. 

\- Hi Sokka! – she laughed nervously. Aang and I were just talking about… hum… Appa! Yes! – she was adorably awkward, Aang thought to himself – how I wanted to shave him again! – it was painful to watch - But yes, I would love to see Zuko play the horn too!  
She gave them a last smile and ran towards the Palace, disappearing inside. 

\- What was that? – Sokka asked, turning his grin to Aang. 

Aang sighed and passed him by without saying a word, but a wind flew from his hands knocking Sokka on his feet. 

\- Gaaaah – it was the last thing the Avatar heard before disappearing in the crowd.


End file.
